Suicide spikes among girls

Attention turns to social media, mental health

(Washington Post) A troubling spike in the suicide rate among girls is prompting leading researchers to question the role of social media in adolescent mental health.

A study published Friday in the JAMA Open Network led by Donna Ruch, a research scientist at Nationwide Children's Hospital, analyzed suicide trends in 10- to 19-year-olds between 1975 and 2016. The rate of suicide decreased from the early 1990s until 2007, but has increased in years since for both genders. While boys die by suicide suicide at a higher overall rate than girls, female youth suicides have surged most in recent years. In the 10- to 14-year-old age group, the rate of suicide increased 12.7 percent for girls and 7.1 percent for boys since 2007.